Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 18

  "Yes but the more she tells me the more salmon she gets."

  "How much?" Vanessa played along with Xany though I was pretty sure she wasn't going to give in that easily. Mal needed saving more than she did.

  "One slice each for good info and I'll throw in some anchovies if it's really juicy stuff."

  "Gavin broke up with his girlfriend," I heard Vanessa say as I led Mal down the hall. I couldn't help but laugh at Vanessa taking full advantage of Xany's ambiguity and gave her information on other people.

  "Really? Why? And I meant info on why you guys are all non-verbally this morning," was the last thing I heard Xany say as Mal and I left the room.

  Mal swatted my ass on the way down the hall and I jumped. "You threw the cat under the Xany bus."

  "She can handle it."

  "Who's your nine o'clock?" Mal asked as I took a seat on the corner of the desk.

  "You." I smiled at him as he stepped in front of me, leaning against my knees.

  "You lied to Xany?" He let his mouth hang open in mock surprise.

  "I didn't lie. You were my nine o'clock and here we are right on time." I grinned. If anything, the combined teachings of Xany and Vanessa taught me how to be misleading without actually lying.

  "That's a little bit genius, you know."

  "Thank you." My laughter faded as thoughts of the reason I pulled Mal away settled in along with yet another awkward silence. "Um…"

  "I didn't know you wanted that..." Mal seemed to think quicker than I did.

  "Me either. I mean…" I shook my head, rubbing his chest while I spoke. "Fleetingly, I had thoughts about it but after I carried both mate bonds, things changed."

  "A lot of things changed then, huh." For some reason, Mal seemed relieved. I knew he was struggling with what he was sensing from Vanessa but maybe his relief came from knowing something changed for me as well.

  "Yeah, sure did." I smirked and he flexed his muscles under my fingertips to make me laugh. "I um… have never done that before, I mean, to Vanessa I have but um… not with anyone else, you know, at the same time and—"

  "I get it, love." Mal laughed at my babbling.

  "Don't laugh at me." I chuckled along with him but swatted his arm for good measure. "Xany said you were feeling confused, why?"

  "You're not confused about everything?" Mal lifted an eyebrow at me.

  "Well… yeah, but why are you confused?"

  "Everything, love. I can't name anything specific, it's just everything. Feelings, you telepathing me first, seeing you with Vanessa…" He grunted after the last one and I swatted him again.

  "You liked it, I know you did."

  "Duh." He smirked. "How'd you telepath me?"

  "I didn't. I mean not on purpose. Maybe you still had us connected or something."

  "Oh… we were connected all right."

  "Stop being all innuendo-y." I laughed and he gave my leg a squeeze. "Erm…what did I say to you when I telepathed you?"

  "Dirty sexy things that nice girls shouldn't say," he teased.

  "Did not." I punched him in the shoulder, which only made him laugh more. "You're wicked."

  "Smack my pride away why don't you?" Mal chuckled. "The message was clear that you wanted both of us." He shrugged.

  "How did I telepath you first?" I asked, trying to keep the embarrassment from my face.

  "Not sure but it worked. Maybe I left the connection open. I do that with you." He brushed his thumb over my cheek.

  "Possibly. Probably." I leaned into his touch. "I made things all awkward now."

  "Love, things have always been awkward. It just happens that we're now all awkward at the same time."

  "I guess you're right."

  "Vanessa is the least awkward though." He lifted a brow at me.

  "Yeah, I know. I think she's had practice in this area."

  "Doesn't surprise me." He glanced over his shoulder toward the door. "Do you really have any appointments here today?"

  "I haven't scheduled any. Why? Is someone here?"

  "I thought I heard something." He moved away from me and opened the door to look outside. After a visual sweep, he shrugged and turned back to me. "I think Adia's still wandering around."

  "She's a sly one that kid."

  "Yeah, tell me about it," Mal said as he closed the door. "I've got a bunch of things to drop off to Imogene later, want to come for a ride? We can go to dinner after."

  "Are you asking me out on a date, Mal?" I smiled at him as he approached. A grin lit up his hazel eyes.

  "I think I might be. Mashed potato cheeseburgers it is." He held his hand out to me and I took it.

  "A delicacy, I swear." I hopped from the table and he paused suddenly. "What?"

  "We have company," he said.

  "Who?"

  "Everyone."

  As I focused inward, I could sense the expansion of the pack bonds followed by the gentle pull of Caden's call. Mal and I returned to the main room to find Hank, Imogene, Caden, Xany, and some of the other Sept Alphas, June and Barron. June looked me over disapprovingly as I entered the room. For a second time this year, she had been a first responder to one of my crises. I guess she was tired of saving my Breeder ass. Adia and my mother entered after everyone.

  Vanessa, now showered and dressed, sat in Caden's chair by the fire. June seemed more comfortable with her presence than mine. Mal let go of my hand and joined the others at the table. I paused beside Vanessa and stroked her hair as we listened in.

  "Is this a Clash?" Mal asked as he pulled out a chair, nodding a greeting to the others and sat.

  "Not quite, jus' us gettin' together to talk about this ancient who needs a quick splinter to the heart." Hank glanced around the room. "What's the count again, Miss Xany?"

  "One too many."

  "Didn' we get a tally of how many leeches are suspected in her nest?" Hank looked between us, his eyes lingering on me for an answer. The truth was I hadn't a clue. Besides Ileana, I'd seen maybe a dozen. Or half a dozen. Or forty. I couldn't be sure. I offered him a light shrug as the heaviness of inadequacy pressed in on my shoulders.

  "From what we gathered, anywhere between six and sixteen," Caden spoke up.

  "That's too big of a range. We could either go in outnumbered or overpowered. Either way, it's not a way to handle this," said June.

  "Well you're welcome to go back and get a head count." Xany huffed.

  "I thought I'd lower you down through the chimney." June lifted her lip in a slight snarl. Hank nudged the back of her head, which stopped the snarl but had her frowning.

  "Age before beauty." Xany gave June a sickly sweet smile.

  "Breeder before Changer." June nearly growled but this time Barron gave her a smack upside the head.

  "None of that now, you ass," he said. June shoved his arm away but quieted.

  "Enough already. We got bigger problems here than posturing. Get it together, ay?" Hank frowned at June. Xany appeared ready for another snappy come back until Hank put his foot down.

  "Either way," Caden said, "We're going to have to go in. Better over prepared than under."

  "Agreed." Mal nodded.

  "It'll matter if we bend in, for space anyway," Adia's small voice pierced through the room. "Who's the best guide and receiver?" Adia looked around at each of us.

  "Not Xany." Mal smirked.

  "Hey, I got Gavin here just fine, thank you very much." Xany stuck her tongue out at him.

  "You got Gavin in the sink. We need to land accurately." Mal snorted at her.

  "Well no one will suspect an attack from the kitchen sink." She giggled and everyone else joined in, except June of course.

  "There are eleven." Vanessa's spontaneous offer of information had me a bit startled.

  "Eleven sinks?" Xany gawked.

  "No. Eleven leeches. Or at least, Shawnee saw eleven different leeches." She didn't look at me when she said it, which was a good thing since all I could do was stare at her. Had I sent her that much inform
ation?

  Hank drew his eyes from Vanessa to Caden then back to her.

  "You're sure?" he asked.

  "Eleven." She nodded.

  June stared at Vanessa, her brow smooth beneath her spiked purple pixie cut. She seemed confused by Vanessa. Maybe she'd never met a werecat ally before.

  "Thank you, Miss Vanessa. That's most helpful." Hank offered her a solemn nod.

  "She is also the best receiver," my mother spoke up.

  "The cat?" June's lips pursed tighter than before as she addressed my mother. I got the strong feeling that June wasn't used to being surrounded by Changers with superior dominance.

  "That cat has a name." Xany frowned. Her defense of Vanessa made my heart swell a bit and I smiled at her.

  "When it comes to Shawnee's experience, Vanessa is the strongest bender." Mal nodded to Hank. "She found her when no one else could in the underground of that Andrus-infested hospital."

  "And when Shawnee would get in trouble, she would just show up wherever." Xany nodded as well. With the siblings' dual defense and timely nods, they resembled each other for the first time ever. At least to me.

  I looked to Vanessa who remained quiet in her seat with one hand tightly gripping the arm of the chair. Maybe the light exposition of her secrets caused it, or their reference of the past. I couldn't be sure.

  "Shawnee's her strongest guide," Caden offered the last piece of required information.

  "A'right. Vanessa will bend us into the leech's lair during daylight hours. I've got a tall order for a few different crossbows. Some fastest, some more accurate," Hank said.

  "I've got a few handguns with some wood-infused bullets." Caden patted his hip as if the holster should be there.

  "You have guns?" Xany perked.

  "Yes but they're not as accurate as the bows. It's worth having anyway," Caden said. "Bullets won't kill them but they can slow them down."

  "Imogene, Adia, and Anadaya will remain here." Hank looked to the trio by the pantry. No one seemed surprised by this.

  "I'm going," Xany chimed in before Hank had a chance to hand out more stay-back orders. "I know how to use the crossbow the best."

  "Second best," Mal reminded her as he nodded toward Caden.

  Vanessa looked up at me, her lips pressed into a thin line. She wanted me to stay here as well. I didn't need a mate bond to tell me her feelings about it.

  "We'll meet here at ten in the mornin' tomorrow and get there when the sun is highest. If we need a quick exit, we can always blow off the roof." Hank gestured around him as if blowing the roof off a house wasn't a big deal. Barron seemed the most enthused.

  "Other homes are nearby," my mother said. "Explosives will not work."

  "A man can dream." Hank chuckled.

  "All right then, we have a plan. And Shawnee and I have a date out back here." Caden lifted a brow at me. "Ready?"

  "Er… a date for what?"

  "Oh, you'll see." He chuckled and waved for me to follow him. Vanessa's brow furrowed with worry but Mal wore an amused grin.

  "When the Alpha calls, I go," I said, to no one in particular, and followed Caden out the door with the others.

  Chapter Twenty

  Caden led me through a path he cleared in the snow. The midafternoon sunlight melted some of it, dampening the ground beneath my feet into squishy mud pies. He offered me a leg up over an ice patch and we continued deeper into the woods.

  "How far are we going?"

  "Just a bit more. We need to move out of range," he said.

  "Of what?"

  "Things." He grinned and steered me through a cluster of low-hanging branches.

  In the clearing ahead, four targets hung between a set of trees with snow-covered bales of hay between them. Remnants of paper bull's-eyes scattered in the fallen hay.

  "Are you going to teach me to use a crossbow like Xany?"

  "Nope." He set down the small duffle bag he carried from the cabin and removed a brown box.

  "Then what are we doing? Knife throwing? No, wait, wooden stake throwing like in that movie with the vampire slayer." I smirked at my own wiseassness. For some reason, it shone brighter when I shared Caden's company. He seemed amused by me, laughing in the appropriate places and tossing a few jabs back every now and then.

  "I was thinking you'd be best at shuriken. Ninja stars all the way." With his back to me, I heard the locks spring back on the box. "Here, hold this."

  "Hold what?" I asked as he slapped a heavy black gun in my hand. "Caden! I don't want this." I held it as far away from my body as possible as if it was a snot-covered gumball.

  "The safety is on." He laughed at me, a full hearty laugh. "Why does stress make you funny?"

  "I'm socially awkward." I dangled the gun from my finger. "Take this before I accidentally shoot myself and my mates kill you."

  "Fine, fine." He took the gun from me then held it up. "I'm going to teach you to shoot."

  "No. I don't like guns. Get the shuriken."

  "Nah. C'mon."

  "Why can't I learn a crossbow like Xany?"

  "Two Breeders, two different weapons." Caden stood beside me and clicked something on the gun, which I assumed was the safety. He pointed it at one of the targets and pulled the trigger. I jumped but nothing happened. He pulled it again but this time I didn't flinch. "Besides, would you really want Xany using a gun?"

  "No, actually. A crossbow is bad enough."

  "It's not loaded," he said as he turned and held the gun to me, butt first.

  "I really don't want to." Knowing it wasn't loaded soothed me only slightly. "I don't like guns."

  "Because you don't trust anything that you can't control. Face the target and pull the trigger." He nodded toward the targets.

  I gripped the gun, but my hands trembled pathetically. Caden moved behind me and showed me how to hold it, guiding my legs apart for balance.

  "Squeeze the trigger, don't pull it. If you pull, it messes up your aim."

  "Um…my finger moves the same way no matter what I do." The shaking sure didn't help any.

  "Calm." Caden's voice slithered over me like a cooling vapor. My shoulders relaxed and the shaking subsided. "Like this." He put his index finger on top of mine and squeezed. The gun snapped as the trigger released and I flinched. "When you pull like this…" He demonstrated. "It moves the aim off target. See?"

  "Yeah," I said, he removed his hand and I tried it myself. It took me a good five seconds before I actually fired the unloaded gun. Hesitation held me tight even though there weren't any bullets.

  "Good. Just like that. Now… try doing it three times fast." He watched me as I drew my eyes away from him to the targets.

  Seconds passed but eventually I was able to fire the unloaded gun three times in rapid succession. Caden grinned and nodded once.

  "Good. When it's loaded, there's going to be some recoil." He held his hand out and I handed it back to him. "The first time will feel stronger because it's new."

  "I really don't want to, Caden. It's so loud."

  "I know but you can handle it."

  "Why are you teaching me this now?"

  "We're going into a leech nest tomorrow and you're just as stubborn as Xany about coming along. You have to be able to protect yourself and this is the only way. Distance running and mental prowess aren't going to be enough. We're talking about leeches. There's nothing worse than intelligent enemies," he said, pausing to load a clip into the gun.

  "Guns can only slow them down." I swallowed hard as I watched him. "I'll never hit them straight on with a wooden bullet. The heart is hard enough to hit without the bullet having wood in it."

  "Something tells me you'll be good at this." He cocked the gun and stood beside me. "I'll shoot it first so you can hear and see the reaction. I'm not giving you earplugs on purpose. You'll need to get used to it."

  "What if it blows out my eardrum? What about yours?" I cringed at the thought.

  "It blows out the eardrum of all werecreatures, but
it heals a second later. It's barely noticeable. Automatic weapons hurt more because the blasts are successive." He looked from me to the targets. "Ready? Watch the middle."

  "Yeah, I'm ready." My face scrunched up as I prepared for potential ear pain.

  Caden fired the gun once. I winced and nearly stumbled back. Of course it was loud, but not loud enough or close enough to me to hurt my ears beyond a loud ringing afterward.

  "Again," he prompted and fired three more shots. By the time the third shot rang out, my flinching settled to a mild tensing. The middle target had three holes in the center and one in the head. "Your turn."

  "Werewolves survive almost all gunshots that aren't made from silver bullets." Tossing out a random fact comforted me some, just in case I shot him anyway. I took the gun when he handed it to me and lifted it. He nudged my arms up, wrapping his arms around mine to guide the shot.

  "Sight alignment will come to you later," he said after explaining the different sights on the gun. "For now, align toward the center. The targets will show where you're off."

  "It's going to knock me back when I fire," I said.

  "Not as much as you're expecting and I'm standing behind you." He squeezed my hands. "Ready?"

  "No."

  "Ready?"

  "Yeah, okay." My heart pounded in my chest.

  "Ready?"

  "Yes, yes." I took a deep breath.

  "Relax just a little and…" He pulled the trigger for me.

  My body jerked back against his but not as much as I thought. The jolt was brief and Caden's support helped.

  "Again."

  "Where did I hit?"

  "Just left of the target. Again. Go." He guided my arms into place and let go of me just before I pulled the trigger. I felt the full recoil this time, but I expected the velocity. This time the bullet hit the corner of the target. "Good."

  "I don't like this," I said as the fear of the gun itself subsided.

  "I know. You may never, but it's a necessary skill. Again. This time try to align the sights toward the center. Take your time." Caden stepped away from me now, leaving me standing on my own. I focused on the sight alignment but whenever I pulled back on the trigger, it moved.